This side event of the EU Raw Materials Week is co-hosted by Wetlands International, FARN, Broederlijk Delen, PUCARA, EU LAT network, and Justice et Paix.

As ecological crises — including climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss — escalate worldwide, the energy transition has emerged as a global imperative. Yet without careful design and implementation, and amid a global context of widespread erosion of human rights and democratic governance, it risks reproducing and intensifying existing and historical social and environmental injustices. 

This panel aims to unpack the ecological and social dimensions of critical mineral extraction, focusing on the High Andean Wetlands as key ecosystems for local communities’ livelihoods, biodiversity and climate regulation. Discussions will explore how Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), and the recognition of “no-go zones” are essential tools to safeguard both nature and people yet remain inadequately implemented. It will address gaps in regulation and enforcement in Latin America, changing cooperation paradigms and rollbacks in Europe, which heighten socio-environmental and democratic weakening 

Through a plural and interdisciplinary dialogue, the session will challenge the energy transition model, will call attention to the need to reduce material demand, transform production and consumption models in the Global North, and ensure that the shift toward decarbonization aligns with international human rights and environmental standards — fostering a truly just and sustainable socioecological transition.